Why has the gender distribution of land ownership in Latin America continued to be so unequal despite the strengthening of women’s land rights over the past forty years and a tendency towards the feminization of peasant agricultural production? And why have recent progressive governments been unable to engage in substantial land redistribution? Dr. Deere will review three moments of land reform in the region, arguing that formal recognition of women’s land rights came just as state land redistribution efforts ended or slowed, and that the importance of agro-exports in Latin American economies limits the ability of governments to do more.
Land to the Tiller?: Gender and the Distribution of Land in Latin America
Carmen Diana Deere
University of Florida, Center for Latin American Studies
